“It’s not what you take when you leave this world behind you; it’s what you leave behind you when you go.” Randy Travis
When the sun came up yesterday morning, I was delighted to see that my yellow irises were blooming. They even have a name, Money. They bloom every year right around my birthday and they are like a birthday wish from heaven.
My maternal grandmother died the month before I was born and so I never got to know her. As time went on, my granddaddy had a companion and her name was Kittie. She became a grandmother to me.
Long after Grandaddy died, we celebrated birthdays and Christmas with her. When I went away to college, she and I exchanged letters once every couple of weeks. We continued that practice until she was placed in a nursing home in her eighties. She was very special to me and I know that God placed her in my life.
She loved irises and grew different types. She entered them into a yearly contest. Sometimes she would complain that they bloomed too soon or that a late frost would mar them, but the yellow ones called, Money, were her favorites. They often won her a ribbon.
After she went home to be with Jesus, her house sat vacant and was set to be torn down. I called her sister and asked if it would be okay if I went and dug up some of her beloved irises. She gave me her blessing and so my hubby and I went and dug up the bulbs.
We planted them in a patch around a tree so I could see them from my kitchen window. They didn’t bloom the first year and then I found a little cat statue with angel wings and placed it in the bed. Kittie loved cats. I could vividly remember her teeheehee, giggle, when I put it there. The next year I was blessed with blooms along with beautiful memories of her.
Now, every year right around my birthday, those blooms pop out. They stand straight and tall as if they are pointing to heaven. They remind me of the importance of those who walk with us along our journey. They remind me that sometimes family doesn’t come to us through blood, but through God’s special blessings. They remind me of a beautiful soul who isn’t here physically anymore, yet her memory remains.
They remind me that life is short and that we need to make our moments count. They remind me of the Randy Travis song, Three Wooden Crosses. “I guess it’s not what you take when you leave this world behind you; it’s what you leave behind you when you go.”
That’s easy to forget sometimes in our constant rush, but sometimes it’s good to be reminded. Sometimes it’s good to stop and ask ourselves, “What will we leave behind when we go?” A different kind of Money reminded me today. Perhaps you need reminding too. Let’s make this day count.
Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂